Bring Her Back
by Akayla's Pierced Heart
Summary: Fourth in Gibbs/Brynn storyline. After Brynn is attacked, Gibbs struggles to help her heal. But he's hiding a secret that could destroy everything. Now Complete
1. Chapter 1

She tried desperately to claw her way out of the nothingness. Her body and mind both ached. She tried to move but her body wouldn't obey her commands. She could suddenly feel things around her. Her arms felt cold. She knew she was lying down. Things beeped around her. The smell, she knew it but couldn't place it. Bleach? She couldn't see, but somehow she knew there was someone standing over her.

"Open your eyes. Open your eyes. Please, baby just open your eyes." A male gravelly voice pleaded with her. She wanted to obey, but her eyelids felt like lead. "Please, just open…" Then she fell back into the nothingness.

NCIS

Bleach. It was bleach. She was sure of it this time. It was the first thing that registered in her mind when the nothingness let go of her again. The smell was so familiar to her. She just wished she knew why. There were men talking. She strained to listen.

"Boss, you should try to get some sleep." This voice was different from the gravelly voice from earlier. This one had an almost a boyish quality.

"I can't." There was the gravelly voice. He sounded broken and desperate. She wanted to reach out to him.

"Boss, you've been here for nearly eighteen hours. One of us will sit with her. If she wakes up, we'll come get you."

"I'm not leaving her." Were they talking about her? Why was she so important?

"Boss…" This was a new voice. He sounded more mature than the boyish voice. But less so than the gravelly voice. "At least go eat something."

"I'm not leaving this room." Now, he sounded frustrated and anxious. She desperately tried to open her eyes. She felt a rough but warm hand brush across her face.

No! The nothingness was trying to take her again. She didn't want to go! She wanted to stay with the voices. They made her feel safe…

NCIS

It took forever to pry open her tired eyes. But she finally did it. As soon as her eyes opened they swiveled around in her head to take in her surrounds. She knew at once that she was in a hospital. But why? There were several I.V. tubes sticking in her arms. As she struggled to keep her composure the beeping grew louder and quicker. She managed to tilt her head to the side. A man was slumped over in a very uncomfortable looking chair. He was snoring slightly. He had salt and pepper hair. She tried to get a better look at his face but it hurt to move her head much. Who was this person? Was he the gravelly voice? He said he wouldn't leave her, so it must be.

"Ah." The strangled sound that came out of her mouth was a far cry from the 'hey, who are you' she had been shooting for. But it was all her mercilessly dry throat would let her do. "Ah." She tried again. The man grunted. Ha! Success! "Aahh." This one was just loud enough to bring the man's head up. At first he just glanced up, then back down. But then he shot his head up again. He was on his feet in a second and leaning close to her. A warm smile broke out across his face. Now that he was closer, his second-day stubble was clearly visible. As her eyes traveled up his face, those piercing blue eyes captured her. She knew this man. But how?

"Hey, beautiful." He was the gravelly voice! His hands were on her face. These were the same rough hands that had touched her earlier.

"Ah." Why couldn't she speak? This was so frustrating! Her brow furrowed in concentration. "Ahhh." She wanted to cry.

"Don't try to speak, baby. Just relax okay. You're gonna be okay." Why was he calling her baby? She tried to ask him.

"Aye bee?" It wasn't exactly 'baby' but at least she got out more than one syllable this time.

"Yeah, the baby's fine." He smiled again.

She felt his hand on her stomach. It took everything she had to bend her head enough to see where his hand was touching her. Her eyes bulged. Her stomach was WAY bigger than it should be. She looked… Pregnant? She couldn't be pregnant! She would remember that! She searched her mind for something… Anything… Nothing came. Oh God, she couldn't remember anything! Her breathing became labored. The beeping quickened. The room started to spin.

"Brynn?" His blue eyes looked at her in alarm. Him freaking out did not help her stop freaking out. Who was Brynn? Was she Brynn? She couldn't remember her name! "Brynn!"

And here comes the nothingness.

NCIS

She fought to stay awake. She could feel a rough and familiar hand on her arm. His thumb was gently caressing her. It felt so relaxing. She let herself lay there with her eyes closed for what felt like a long time. She knew as soon as she opened her eyes, the stark whiteness around her would assault her senses. But this was dark and nice and comfortable.

"Mmhh." She didn't mean to let the noise escape from her mouth. As soon as it did, the gentle rubbing stopped and the hand gripped her arm just a little tighter.

"Brynn?" It was him again. But she knew it would be. "Please, open your eyes." He pleaded. She opened her eyes and cringed away from the brightness around her. The hand was gone from her arm. She heard footsteps. "That better?" She opened her eyes wider. The lights had dimmed.

"Mhh hmm." She tried to nod, but her head felt so dizzy she was afraid to move it. The nothingness might capture her again. The hands were back on her. One was on her arm, the other touched the top of her head. Warmth flooded through her at the touch. She looked up into his face. His stubble was longer. She squinted in confusion. How long had they been here? Days? Longer?

"I thought I lost you." His thumb rubbed her forehead. If not for the confusion, this would feel so perfect. "The doctors say you're gonna be okay." That was nice to know. "And the baby's fine too." Sure would be nice to know exactly when and by whom she got pregnant in the first place. "You're gonna be here for a while though. But I'm gonna be right here with you." Nice to have company, but who the hell are you?

"Who?" She had only been thinking the question. She didn't realize she said it out loud until her throat ached from speaking.

"Don't you worry. We got the bastard." His eye darkened for a second. "He wont hurt anybody else. I guarantee it." She believed him. But not exactly what she was asking.

"You?" Yeah, who are you? Tell me, cause asking just freaking hurts!

"Me? I'm fine, I'm just worried about you." He chuckled. "You're in a hospital and you wanna know if I'm okay. Classic you."

Okay, now she was getting pissed. It must have shown on her face because his expression grew more concerned. Who was this guy? She gathered every ounce of strength she had and very slowly…

"Who… Are… You?" Nothingness.

NCIS

The nothingness had let go again and the voices were back. But she kept her eyes closed. They were talking about her again. She wanted to know what was going on. And who _were_ these people?

"I'm sure it's just temporary, boss. Your memory came back. So will hers." The boyish voice said.

"Stop trying to cheer me up, McGee." The gravelly voice warned. Why did they call him Boss? Well, she would too. Boss was easier to think about than gravelly voice. And the boyish voice was McGee? Okay, that was easy too. Thinking was just as tiring as talking. Now what to call the other voice?

"Boss, is there anything you need?" There was the other voice.

"No." She heard two sets of footsteps retreating. "Tony." Boss called out. The footsteps stopped.

"Yeah, boss?" Okay, third voice was Tony. Now everyone had a more simple name.

"Thanks. Both of you, thanks." She got the distinct impression that Boss didn't say 'thanks' very often.

"Sure, boss." She heard them leave. Boss sighed loudly. His hand ran up and down her arm. The touch surprised her and her eyes popped open.

"Hey." Damn! He saw her! Now, he would want her to keep her eyes open.

"Haaa." Her mouth felt less dry. The lights in the room were still dim but she could tell he had just shaved.

"Do you know who I am?" His eyes begged for a 'yes.'

"Nuh." So we were back to one syllable again. His face went from hopeful to deadpan. She squinted and tried to lick her lips. Her tongue didn't seem to want to work.

"Do you want some chapstick?" That was an unexpected question. "I have your purse." He disappeared from view for a few seconds. She tried to follow him, but her head wouldn't move. "Here we go." He produced a tube of chapstick. Then gently applied the it to her lips. It tasted like honey and oranges. She liked it.

"Thnk ooh." Her lips felt better, but her mouth was still chalky. "Ack." She smacked her mouth open and closed.

"Thirsty?" Yes! That's what she needed, water!

"Yah." Her eyes lit up. Maybe after some water, she'd be able to speak. He grabbed a cup with a long straw and moved over her. He put the straw in her mouth. His eyes never left hers as she sucked greedily on the straw. "Mhh." He pulled the straw away so she could take a breath.

"More?"

"Ya." He put the straw back in her mouth. She sucked until she needed more air. This time she was able to pull her face away from the straw. She tested her ability to speak. "Nay." He set the cup on the table beside her bed. "Nay."

"Just take your time." He sat down and scooted his chair up. He was leaning his upper body over the bed, putting his face close to hers.

"Nay. Name." There! Finally!

"Mine is Jethro Gibbs. Yours is Brynn Sutter."

*FLASH*

"Good morning, Agent Gibbs?"

"Uh, Good morning, Agent…?"

"Sutter, Brynn Sutter. Are you looking for coffee, sir?"

*FLASH*

"Age. Age nhh ent."

"That's right!" He got excited. "We're both Federal agents. Do you remember where we work?"

"Wor?" A flash of a computer keyboard. "Nh." Computers. "Com… oot… er?"

"Yes, you work with computers. Do you remember where?"

"Mhh." Her face scrunched up. It hurt to think. But she needed to know what was happening. "Mhh." She was crying before she could control it. The hot tears ran down her cheeks. "Nuh."

"It's okay." He stood and leaned over her body. "It's okay. Just rest." He kissed her forehead. It felt right and unfamiliar at the same time. Then he was wiping away her tears with his rough fingers. "You don't have to talk anymore."

But she wanted to talk! She wanted to remember! As soon as he had started talking, she started getting flashes.

"Ooh talk, plesh." At least she had gotten the word 'talk' out.

"You want me to talk?"

"Hell." His eyebrows came together. "Hells." She tried to clear her throat but it hurt. "Hell puh ssssh."

"Helps?"

"Ya!" That didn't take much.

"Talking helps?"

"Ya!" Luckily this one was smart. Or he just knew her really well. She had a feeling it was both. "Meh ber. Hells."

"It helps you remember." He sat back down. "Okay. Uh, well, we work at NCIS. It's the Naval Criminal Investigative Service." He paused and looked at her. When her only response was a very slight nod, he continued. "You work in cyber crimes."

"Poot er."

"Yeah, with computers. I'm an investigator."

"Bosh."

"Yeah, I'm a boss." She hadn't actually remembered that. But she didn't want to spoil it by telling him that she had heard the other two guys call him boss. He just seemed so happy to be having a conversation with her. "Uh, we work in D.C. Do you remember where we live?"

"Nuh." We?

"Okay…" This was getting hard for him. "Tim McGee, Tony DiNozzo, and Ziva David are on my team. We also work with Ducky, Jimmy, and Abby. Do any of those names ring a bell?"

*FLASH* Black coming at her. Arms wrapping around her. A very girly squeal. *FLASH*

"Hug."

"Yeah, that's Abby. She's a hugger." Brynn smacked her lips. "More water?" She was able to nod. He brought forth the cup again and she drank her fill.

"Ack. Bluh ack."

"Abby?"

"Ya."

"Yeah, she's a goth. She wears a lot of black. Black hair too." Her brow creased as another memory zoomed in front of her.

"Um, Ti… Mee."

"Timmy?" She nodded. "It's what you call McGee. You were friends with him before any of the rest of us met you. He worked with you in cyber crimes for a few months."

*FLASH* "Please help me! I want to take Tony somewhere nice for our anniversary. But I want to get him out of the city. Any ideas?" *FLASH*

Brynn blinked several times. Tim and Tony were gay? And a couple? Whoa… Information overload. Her eyes went wide.

"Lov ersh. Tim… Toey… Lov ersh?

"That's right. Tim and Tony are a couple. You remember getting them together?"

"I hells?" She didn't remember that part. But it sounded like something she'd do for a friend.

"Yeah, we both helped. Ziva was in on it too. Do you remember any of it?" She remember playing darts, dancing, and pool.

"Bar?"

"Yeah, we went to a bar."

There was something else she remembered. But before the memory solidified in her mind something happened.

"Ahhh!" Gibbs jumped when the choked cry shot out of Brynn. God in heaven, something just moved inside her! Moved! Something _moved_! Her eyes went down to where she felt the odd sensation. Her belly. Oh, right, she was pregnant.

"What's wrong? What is it?" His hands cupped her face.

"Aye bee."

"Baby?" One hand went to her belly and stayed there.

"Ooved."

"I can feel him kicking." He grinned first at her belly, then back at her.

"Hm?"

"We're having a boy." Brynn felt the room spin.

"Wuh eeh?" There was that word again. _We_. He hesitated before answering.

"I'm the father." He looked like he would rather her have remembered that on her own.

"Oh." Somehow she felt she already knew that. But to be told point blank was still a bit… Much. This man was her lover. She was going to have his baby. Why weren't they married? They had different last names. "Wuf."

"What?"

"Wuf. Whaaah. Whaf." Okay, 'wife' wasn't going to come out. "Mah." He waited patiently for her to get it out. "No may ree duh?"

Understanding finally crossed his features. It was followed closely by regret. Had she brought up a raw subject? She thought the question was only fair.

"No, we're not married." His voice had lost it's excitement.

"Wuh?"

"It hasn't come up." That was actually the truth. It still sounded lame. Her eyes went deliberately down to her belly then back up to him. "You're almost seven months along, now." Her eyes narrowed. "We haven't really discussed marriage… Yet." She felt the 'yet' was strictly for her benefit. That pissed her off a little. He saw the emotion cross her face. "I just… A lot's happened lately and… We haven't gotten around to talking about it." That still sounded lame.

Brynn cringed as another flash came over her. Yelling. There was yelling.

*FLASH*

"Don't you dare try to send me away!"

"I have to! You need to get away from me. Brynn, there are people trying to kill me, but they are gonna go through everyone I love first."

"I'm not leaving."

"Please Brynn, just this once."

*FLASH*

"No sah. Ray no sah. Meh icko"

"You remember them trying to kill me?" She nodded.

"Dah. Dah ad."

"Yeah, and my dad. He's okay. Everyone is."

"Me?"

"They never touched you." His eyes darkened again for a second.

"Nuh. Wha hap to me? Wha, why I huh ere?"

"Why are you here now?" She nodded. "Someone attacked you a week ago. You were walking to your car at the Navy yard. It was night. I was still working. You didn't have your usual strength, so he was able to overpower you. He put you in the trunk… The police found your car twelve miles from the Navy yard. He hit you on the head pretty hard. You'd lost lot a lot of blood. That's why it's so hard to speak and… Remember."

"We eek?" She'd been here a whole week? It felt like a lot less. How long had she been unconscious before she woke up the first time?

"Eight days to be exact." He rubbed one hand down his face. "You were missing for… Almost nine hours before we found you. It was so cold out, you were blue when we found you." The memory of her cold, unmoving body invaded his mind. "I thought you…" He squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again. "But we caught the dirt bag. And he won't hurt anyone else." Because the son of a bitch 'resisted' arrest and got shot… Through the head… Right between the eyes.

"Tie. Er. Tie er duh." She wanted to know more but she could feel her mind being pulled under.

"Just close your eyes. I'll be here when you open them again."

"Pom ish?"

"I promise." He kissed her forehead. Brynn let the nothingness have her.

NCIS

She was alone. This was new. She could tell it was early morning because of the orange and pink coming in through the window. The clock on the wall helped too. Brynn smacked her lips together. Her throat felt so much better than yesterday. Or had it been longer? Would she be able to talk better?

"Bruh." **I can do this. **"Bruh innh. Brynn." **Okay, first name down. **"Sud. Suddh. Shudder." **Close enough. **"Jeh. Jet. Jeh. Raw. Jet. Raw." **This is hard! **"Guh. Gub. Gih. Gibb. Gibbs." **That was easier. **

For the next twenty minutes, Brynn worked on naming every object she could see from her bed. She had cycled through almost everything in her room when her door opened.

"Gubbs!" Damn, she had it right earlier. But he seemed ecstatic that she had at least recognized him.

"Good morning, beautiful." He smiled. "How long have you been awake?" He went to his usual chair.

"No erry lonh." What the hell! She had been doing fine earlier, now suddenly she was all slurry again.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here."

"Ish kay." She saw the object in his hand. "Coe fee. Back. Black. Like it black." Her first full coherent sentence! Yay! She celebrated with a smile.

"That's right. It's not coffee if you put anything else in it." His smile grew.

"Marh. Marh een coe fee. Marh een." She wanted to say it right!

"It's okay, I know what you're saying. Marine coffee is black. So, you remember I'm a Marine?"

"Want sah wight!" She was getting mad again. She knew what to say, but by the time it came out of her mouth, it was all messed up. It was almost like there was a glitch between her mind and her mouth.

"You can't rush this. It's gonna take time. Don't get frustrated." He tried to soothe her. But seeing her old temper come out had relieved him. This was his Brynn. She would push herself and no one could stop her.

"Meh mem ber lots." She brightened up.

"Good, tell me."

"Wor. You work. Get bad guh." She smacked her lips. All this talking was making her thirsty. In a second, Gibbs had her water cup and was putting the straw in her mouth. She figured smacking her lips had become the signal for 'thirsty.' She drank and pulled her face away. "Crim nals." She finished her sentence.

"Yeah, I catch criminals. So do you. We just have different methods." He set her cup down. She scrunched her face in concentration. Gibbs knew this expression. It was the one she wore when she was trying to put together a puzzle.

"Tony joke lots. Tim mee besh frin. My besht frin. Zee scare nin juh. Duck doc. Abbs lab muse blasht." She paused and searched her mind for more. "Swin… Ing. Swing. My swing. Home."

"What swing are you remembering?" He was amazed. It seemed the more she spoke, the better he could understand her. And the more she remembered.

"You may. Made. Gran… Pa. Two Swins. Mem ber bofth"

"You remember your grandpa?" She nodded. "Do you remember any one else in your family?"

"Mom, Dad. die, crash." She sighed. "Bry Bry in."

"Your brother, Bryan." Gibbs' eyes darkened.

"Hursh me? He hursh me?"

"You remember?" Gibbs' voice changed. He sounded almost fearful.

"He took car. Hit me." Relief? Was that relief? It sure looked like it.

"So you remember when he hurt before he went to prison?"

"He not hursh me again." She felt confused. _What_ was he talking about. She hadn't seen Bryan since he went away. How could he hurt her again?

"And he won't anymore." She was still confused, but there were other questions she wanted answered.

"We in ov. Love."

"Yeah, we're in love." He put one hand on the top of her head and gently massaged her scalp with his fingertips.

"I like dat." She smiled.

"What?"

"Head rub."

"You always did like your head rubbed." He bent down enough that his nose brushed her forehead.

"Feel nish." She stayed silent for a few minutes, just enjoying the touch. Her eyes closed.

When she opened her eyes again, Gibbs had shifted in his chair to face the T.V. It looked like the news was on. Did she pass out?

"Gubbs?" She knew she could say Gibbs, but Gubbs just sounded funny. And as long as she could get away with it… He jerked in his chair and whipped around to face her.

"Hey there." His hand immediately went to her head.

"Did I sheep?" She hoped he understood that.

"You were out for a few hours." He smiled. "The team is on there way here to see you."

"You no go work?" Another full sentence! She was on a roll.

"I'm taking time off until you get better." She knew that this was out of character for him. Her stomach suddenly growled.

"Have noms?"

"Noms?" His eyebrow came together.

"Nom noms." It was easier to say than food.

"Oh, you're hungry!" He jumped up. "I can get a nurse to bring you something. I doubt you're ready for anything solid though."

"Gubbs!"

"Yeah?" He turned just at the door.

"Juh, jush."

"Juice?" She nodded. "Okay, juice too."

Brynn had just finished sucking down two bowls of chicken broth. Gibbs was happy she had such an appetite. She had even surprised her nurse when she asked for the second bowl. She was smacking her lips and eyeing the juice box in front of her when her door was slowly pushed open. Gibbs ignored the door and picked up the juice box. He put the straw in Brynn's mouth and waited for the signal to pull away.

"That is the cutest thing I think I have ever seen." A feminine voice with a distinct accent grabbed Brynn's limited attention span.

"Zee!" She said after pulling away from the straw.

"You remember us?" Tony asked, half hidden behind a huge spray of blue lilies. He set the basket down and the three of them moved closer to the bed.

"Her memory is coming back pretty quickly. She still has trouble speaking though." Gibbs said for her.

"We thought about bringing you chocolates or something, but we weren't sure you were allowed to eat it." Tim spoke up.

"She just downed two bowls of broth." Gibbs sounded so proud.

"So, still strictly liquid?" Tony asked. Brynn nodded. It was easier to move her body now. Her slightly propped position was also helping her back. "Maybe we could bring you some chocolate milk then."

Brynn smacked her lips again. All this talk about liquids reminded her of her thirst. Gibbs was immediately there with the juice box.

"I say it again, cute." Ziva smiled. "I should have brought a camera."

"I have one on my phone!" Tony pulled out his cell. Brynn shook her head away from the straw.

"Nuh wah pick takey!" She glared. The other three froze. Non of them had understood what Gibbs had meant about her having trouble talking, until now. They gawked at her, shocked. Gibbs shot them a glare and they all looked down. Tim's eyes came up first.

"Sorry, Brynnie." He muttered.

"Ish kay. Jush no picks." She didn't seem to realize why they looked so ashamed all of the sudden.

"Hey, no problem." Tony said, putting his phone away.

"Nish flows." They just looked at her. She managed to half raise one arm and point behind them. "Flows, boo, like. Tinks"

"The flowers." Gibbs said impatiently when they still hadn't gotten it. "She said thanks, they're nice. She likes blue." He felt like head slapping all three of them. He turned to see Brynn glaring at him. "What?"

"Mean." She accused.

"Hey, I understood you. So should they."

Yes, but he had been dealing with her slurry baby talk for days. _They_ hadn't. Of course she couldn't say this. So, she just glared.

"Gubbs, no be mean." She chided. Tony tried to hold in the snort, but it came out. As mad as he was at his team, Brynn's pouting face made him melt. She broke into a smile and giggled. This released the tension in the room and everyone relaxed. Brynn smacked her lips again and her eyes searched for the juice box.

"You finished it." Gibbs held up the empty box.

"I'll go find some chocolate milk!" Tony spun around and headed for the door. Tim and Ziva just stood there.

"Nee more share." Brynn said, looking around.

"Share what?" Gibbs asked.

"No. Share to sit. Nee more."

"Chairs?" Tim asked. Brynn nodded.

"No, we are alright." Ziva said shaking her head. Tony came back in holding four small milk boxes. "Did you steal those?"

"No!" That meant yes. Tony set them down on the food table in front of Brynn. Her eyes lit up immediately and her lips started to smack.

"Do you guys need to be somewhere?" Gibbs asked. He had opened one milk box and shoved the straw from her water in it.

"Gubbs!" Brynn protested. "Mean!"

"I'm not being mean! It was just a question!" She glared but let him put the straw in her mouth.

"Actually, Brynnie, we do need to get going. We just took our lunch break to come see you." Tim explained.

"See." Gibbs defended himself. Brynn stopped gulping the milk.

"You eat?" She asked the other three.

"We are going to grab something on the way back. We just wanted to bring you flowers and wish you better."

"Wish you well." Tony interjected.

"I go for besher." Brynn agreed with Ziva. The two women shared a smile.

"Well, we will come back by later." Ziva said. "Get better Brynn."

"Yes, get well and better." Tony stepped forward enough to pat her gently on the head.

"Next time, I'll bring you some chocolates you can suck on. Hershey kisses or something." Tim moved to kiss her on her forehead but stopped half-way. She may not be ready for that kind of contact. He just patted her cheek.

"Next time, bring coffee too." Gibbs called out just as they had turned for the door. Brynn shot him a glare. "Please." He added last second, rolling his eyes.

"Will do, boss." Tony called back over his shoulder.

"You so mean." Brynn shook her head at Gibbs.

"I said please!" She continued to glare. "Okay, sorry." He rolled his eyes again.

"Rule Sish!"

"Yeah, yeah, sign of weakness." He stopped when he realized she had remembered his rules. He turned to her and smiled.

"Wha?" She asked, still a little mad.

"Just glad you're getting better."

Out in the hall, Tony was trailing behind the other two.

"Do you think she calls him Gubbs on purpose?" He asked. Ziva and Tim stopped and turned to Tony. "She doesn't really seem to have a problem with her I's…"

"You're right… I think it is on purpose." Tim grinned.

"Do you think he would mind if we called him that?"

"You go right ahead, Ziva." Tony shook his head. "I'm too fond of my teeth to risk that."


	2. Chapter 2

It was another week before Brynn was allowed to leave the hospital. She had gained almost all of her memory back. Her childhood was still cloudy, but the important things were there. But she still had no memory of her attack. The last thing she remembered from that entire day was having lunch with Gibbs and McGee in the break room. Her speech had improved a lot but full sentences were still difficult. All her motor functions were normal, but she still suffered severe dizziness if she stood up for too long. It seemed for every improvement, there was still a set-back. Gibbs had stayed at home with her for another four days before he decided to go back to work. Brynn had wanted to go back to work with him, but the doctors had advised her to stay out for at least another week. Gibbs had put his foot down and ordered her to follow their advice.

"I don't need nanny." She said each word carefully, making sure to get them right. She was on the couch watching Gibbs pull on his winter coat.

"Until you can walk more than five steps without nearly falling over, yes you do." He stopped and looked at her. He couldn't tell is she was pouting or glaring. It was probably both.

"Gibbs, I want to… By myself!" He hadn't let her get away with calling him Gubbs after she had slipped up in the hospital and said his name right. But saying Jethro was too difficult. It still came out 'Jet-raw.'

"Absolutely not. Now, the nurse is gonna be here in a few minutes. She's just here to help. So be nice. Don't bite her head off, like you do me."

"Gonna bite some… thing." She looked away and missed his smirk. He sat beside her on the couch and slid one arm around her.

"Okay, tell me what's really bugging you." Even with his arm around her, they were still barely touching. "Come one, let it out."

"Don't wanna be… Helpless anymore. Wanna do stuff… Myself. Can't even talk."

"Brynn, you need to let yourself heal. You've been through a traumatic thing and you're lucky you came away this well. Just give yourself time. Look at where you were a week ago. Think of how well you'll be doing a week from now." He smiled. "And you know you're doing better if I'm actually willing to leave your side."

Actually the only real reason he was willing to leave her side was to give her some kind of sense of independence. But he would not leave her completely alone. She could have her independence. But it was damn well going to be supervised independence. A home nurse had not been his idea. But it was better than having her constantly pissed at him for trying to help her with every little thing. Let someone else be her temper's target. If all went well, he'd be by to check on her by mid-day.

Of course by mid-day, Gibbs was up to his eyeballs in work. The rest of his team were all at their desks typing, taking calls, and going over crime scene photos. No one paid any mind to the elevator ding. It wasn't until Gibbs heard someone yell Brynn's name that anyone looked up. Brynn was standing just in front of the elevator, being hugged by Dorneget. What the hell! Gibbs stood and his mouth fell open. Brynn slowly made her way over to the bullpen. She was followed closely by a very young looking blond girl, who looked like a cheerleader. Brynn's angry expression was aimed right at Gibbs.

"What are you doing here?" Gibbs asked when she finally came to his desk. He pushed his chair around and sat her in it.

"Pissed." Was all she said.

"You're supposed to be with your nurse." Gibbs pushed her in the chair back behind his desk. Once he stopped, Brynn pointed at the blond cheerleader. Gibbs looked up and the young girl smiled and waved at him.

"You're a nurse?" Tony asked the girl standing right next to his desk.

"Yes." She said brightly.

"What are you, like twelve?" Tony said, glancing at Ziva. Ziva was trying not to laugh.

"I'm twenty. I just graduated from nursing school last month."

Gibbs squeezed his eyes shut and sighed. Now, the pissed off look on Brynn's face made so much sense.

"Miss, there's a break room down the hall." Gibbs pointed and did his best not to make the girl cry. "Would you mind getting Brynn a soda out of the vending machine?" He quickly handed her a dollar bill.

"Coming right up!" She chirped and walked away. Gibbs turned to face Brynn. The glare was still in full force.

"So," he began carefully. "I guess being babysat by a toddler can hardly count as good quality medical care."

"Thank you!" Brynn blurted out. "You get it now!"

Tim, Ziva, and Tony all burst out laughing.

"Okay, I'll tell you what… I'll compromise, if you will too." Gibbs folded his arms.

"Terms?" She looked up at him suspiciously.

"You can come to work with me. But you will take it easy. And you will accept a babysitter."

"Not the tod.. Tod…"

"No, not the toddler nurse." Gibbs turned his head and whistled. "Dorneget! Get over here!" Dorneget quickly ran to Gibbs' side. "What kind of duty have you been assigned this week?"

"Uh, just helping out in the evidence garage… Boss." The poor guy looked so nervous.

"You have a new assignment. You are to guard and assist Agent Sutter. You got that?"

"Yes, Gibbs… Boss!"

"And Dorneget." Gibbs leaned over into Dorneget's face. "Do not let her out of your sight." Gibbs pulled back.

"Baff room!" Brynn held up her arms.

"Okay," Gibbs amended. "Except there." By then the toddler nurse had come back. Gibbs took the soda she held out. "You can go home now." The nurse looked down at Brynn. Brynn just smiled and waved goodbye.

The rest of Gibbs' afternoon was relatively routine. Got a lead. Brought in the dirt bag. Questioned the dirt bag. Went down to Abby's lab for results. To his surprise, Brynn was everywhere. She had visited the cyber crimes office and chatted briefly with her coworkers. Then she was in Abby's lab for a few hours. Gibbs got a call from Ducky. On his way to autopsy, he passed Brynn again. Dorneget was right behind her.

"You're running this guy everywhere." Gibbs tilted his head at Dorneget.

"That his job, right?" She smiled.

"Well, yeah, but I thought you were gonna take it easy."

"Not dishy all day." Her speech was slurring again. That worried him.

"She's been doing really well, Agent Gibbs." Dorneget cut in. Gibbs glared at the traitor.

"You don't need to push yourself." Gibbs said, stepping closer to Brynn.

"Want put me in wheel share?" She put her hands on her hips.

"Don't tempt me." He smirked and walked away.

"Not a baby!" She yelled at his back.

"Jethro!" Ducky sounded his usual, chipper self. One look at his face and Gibbs knew better. Gibbs sent Palmer a look. Palmer just nodded and left.

"What?" Gibbs asked once they were alone.

"Brynn is doing extremely well don't you think."

"Yes. And I intend to keep it that way." His eyes said he knew where this was going.

"Coddling her is not going to help. Brynn is a fighter, just like you. Treating her like she is going to shatter at any given second is not the answer."

"Is that what she said I'm doing?"

"She didn't need to say anything. I can see it. Jethro, I know how much you love her. But you cant hide things from her and expect her to let you get away with it."

"I'm not hiding anything!"

"Why haven't you told her what happened the night of the attack?"

"She doesn't need to re-live that."

"She doesn't? Or _you_ don't?" Ducky sighed. "She just spent the last twenty minutes trying to pry information out of me. I don't know all the details, so I told her to talk to you. Jethro, if you don't tell her, someone else will. And who do you think will crack first under her glare?"

"That's actually a toss up. McGee and DiNozzo are more scared of her than they are me." Gibbs paused when he realized what he had just said. He looked at Ducky.

"You'd better run." Gibbs turned and rushed for the elevator.

Gibbs got back to the bullpen just in time. Brynn was sitting in his office chair. She had pushed the chair to where it was just in front of Tony's desk.

"I can't tell you. Gibbs will kill me. Why can't you go glare the answer out of him?" Tony was pleading with her.

"You should learn to maintain your backbone and not break so easily under a glare, Tony." Ziva remarked from her desk.

"She has a very backbone breaking glare!" Tony defended himself. He was about to say something else but spotted Gibbs and shut his mouth.

"Ain't that the truth." Gibbs muttered as he pulled another chair around and sat at his desk. Brynn turned her chair around and faced him. Her glare turned into a pout. She stood up from the chair and pushed it away. Dorneget suddenly appeared at her side. Gibbs knew he was in trouble when Brynn left the squad room without saying another word to anyone. Dorneget cast one confused glance around the room before rushing to keep up with her.

Brynn stalked into Abby's lab where she knew Tim was. She grabbed a chair and plopped down into it. Angry tears were starting to fall down her flushed cheeks. She needed to rant. But every time she got angry, it only got harder to speak. And that only made her more frustrated. Dorneget hung back by the door. Tim just stared at her as she pulled her chair up to the computer beside him and opened the Note Pad program. Abby quickly came up behind Brynn and wrapped her arms around her.

"You need to let some steam out again?" Abby asked. Brynn had already been down here once today. She had typed, Abby had read and talked.

**(He's treating me like a baby! I hate it! He thinks I can't take it, hearing about the night I was attacked. I want to know what the hell happened and I want to know now!)** Brynn punched the keys as fast as she could. Then she turned her glare at Tim.

"Brynnie, if I say anything, he'll be pissed." Tim tried to explain.

**(How do you think your silence makes me feel?)**

"Look, he thought that you were gonna die! Personally, I don't blame him for…" Tim caught himself. "I don't blame him for not talking about it."

**(You're hiding something! You all are! You all think I'm brain damaged and if you tell me the truth, then I'll fall apart or something!)**

"We do not think you're brain damaged." Abby stood up straight and twirled Brynn around in the chair to face her. "You're getting better every day. We just worry about you."

"Brynnie," Tim tried to reason with her. He knew when she was this angry, it clouded over everything else. "You didn't see him that night in the hospital… When he thought you might not make it." Brynn spun herself back around and typed one last thing before getting up.

**(Maybe that's why he's pushing me away. He's afraid of losing me so he won't let himself love me anymore. He doesn't even touch me anymore. He won't kiss me except on the cheek or forehead. It's like he can't be intimate with me. Like he doesn't want me now. I am damaged. He looks at me like I'm a different person, someone he doesn't know. If he wanted me like he used to, why won't he show it. He never needed to say it before, cause he always showed it. Now I don't even get that. I wake up in the middle of the night, and he's moved to the couch! It's like I have a roommate who just feels sorry for me. I'm sick of it!)**

By the time Tim and Abby had finished reading what she had typed, she and Dorneget were already gone. Tim angrily pulled out his cell phone and called Gibbs.

"Boss, you need to get to Abby's lab right now." He ended the call before Gibbs could reply. "Don't you dare delete this." He pointed at Brynn's angry words. Abby just nodded.

NCIS

Gibbs was getting the silent treatment. He knew he had it coming, but that didn't mean he liked it. He sighed when they hit the first red light, after leaving the Navy yard. Brynn was in the passenger seat with her head turned away from him. Half-way home, Gibbs changed direction. Brynn took a second to shoot him a curious glance, but still said nothing.

When they pulled up outside of a restaurant, Brynn let her gaze slide back to Gibbs. Her eyebrows came up. He just got out of the car and circled around to open her door. She let him help her out of the low slung car. He kept hold of her hand as they walked up to the door of the restaurant. It wasn't anything fancy, one of those mom and pop places, but it was just about all that was open this late. Brynn had never liked fancy anyways. Her idea of dressing up was putting on lipstick instead of chapstick.

She shot him another curious look when they sat down in a small booth, far from the few other patrons in the small eatery. He just smiled and handed her a menu. The waitress came and took their orders. Brynn was determined not to break the silence first. She sighed and looked at the dessert menu.

"They have really good chocolate pie here." Her eyes came up when Gibbs spoke. After a second, she dropped her gaze again. "I used to come here all the time. They make a pretty good steak too." Okay, he was making an attempt at conversation. She may as well reward him.

"You no come here now?" She kept her eyes down.

"Not since a beautiful woman started cooking for me." She rolled her eyes. It had been a while since she had cooked anything for anyone. _Someone _wouldn't et her in the kitchen. He sighed. "I'm trying here, Brynn." Her eyes came up. She looked slightly embarrassed. Then her eyes skittered away again.

"Tim or Abby?"

"What?"

"Who tole on me?"

"Technically neither of them. They just showed me what you typed." She put her elbow on the table and set her face on her hand. Their drinks came. "Are you gonna talk to me?"

"I want you talk. I want know things."

"You wanna know about that night."

"And more. Want know, you still love me?" Her eyes finally met his. "Even though, I different. Not same person." His eyes grew wide.

"You think you're not the same person just because you have trouble saying what you want?"

"I feel different. I feel like… People look at me different. Talk like a baby. Treat like a baby. I know what they think. I brain dam-" Gibbs reached his hand out and cut her off.

"You are NOT brain damaged." He fought not to yell. "And if anyone even hints that they think you are, you send them to me." She sat up straight, surprised at his outburst.. "And you _are_ the same Brynn I fell in love with. I still love you, that never changed. If anything, it only got stronger." He sat back and sighed again. "Damn it, Brynn. When you woke up in the hospital and didn't know who I was… I made up my mind even then, to stick by you. Not because I felt sorry for you. Because I love you. I need you." He watched her expression soften. The anger seemed to be seeping out of her. "You know I don't say things I don't mean. You know I would never say something just to make you feel better." She nodded in agreement. "Well, I'm not now. When your memory started coming back, I can't even _say _how happy that made me. If you remembered me, maybe you wouldn't leave me."

"You think I leave?" That was new.

"I left when I couldn't remember who I was… Duck said today that you are a fighter, just like me. It's not the only thing we have in common. I knew that."

"I…" He waited for her to find the right words. "When I wake up." She scrunched her face. "Woke up. I feel safe. Hear your voice. Made me feel warm. You touch me, I fell better. Made me want to stay wake. Even before, I remember."

"You couldn't remember, but you still had feelings." She nodded. "I've been there." He paused. "Listen to me, Brynn. Even in the hospital, when you wanted to do things for yourself. When you got mad every time I had to help you… I saw that same fiery, strong, independent woman I fell for. I wanted to celebrate every time you lost your temper, or got excited about remembering something, or just flat out demanded to be left alone. Even when you would order me out of the room because you got too frustrated, it made me happy. Because I knew that you were still my Brynn. My Brynn, who hates being waited on. And who can't stand pity, or fake promises. I could see it in your eyes that you kept expecting me to leave and not come back."

"I could see you would stay."

"Nothing could have made me leave you." He looked up when their food arrived. "That's enough for now. We both need to eat." She sighed and nodded.

When they left the restaurant, Gibbs took her hand and led her back to the car. He unlocked and opened her door. Before she bent down to get in, he pulled her close to his face. The kiss was tender. Brynn's eyes fluttered when he pulled back. She was quiet the whole way home. When he pulled up into the snowy driveway, Gibbs thought she might have fallen asleep. But when he pulled the keys out of the ignition, she was opening her door. He got out as fast as he could and was at her side just as she shut her door. He took her hand and helped her up the porch steps.

Once inside the warm house, Gibbs took her coat and hung it by the door. After doing the same with his own coat, he took her into the living room and sat her on the couch. She watched as he got a fire started, then joined her on the couch. He pulled her close to him, so they were laying across the couch. Brynn didn't realize just how much she had missed this. Flashes of several other nights on this couch, next to a crackling fire, spun through her mind.

"Mmmhhh." She moaned when he started rubbing her head. He shifted so they were facing each other, but he still had one arm curled under her head. He draped his other arm around her waist. "Miss this."

"Me too." He landed several tiny kisses on her lips. She moaned each time they touched. When her hand curled around his neck, his lips stayed on hers. Her tongue slid across his bottom lip. He shuddered and opened his mouth to her. He could taste the sweet chocolate pie they had just shared. "Brynn." He mumbled and pulled away from her. "I wanna make you feel good. I wanna make you feel how much I love you." He ran his fingers down her cheek. Her eyes widened and her lower lip quivered. She looked so innocent, so vulnerable. It shook Gibbs right down to the core of his being.

Then she was pulling his face back to hers. Her kiss was just as needy as his. He felt her grip on his neck tighten as her tongue reclaimed his. His free hand moved up and down her body. He bent his head sideways and kissed her neck. She moaned again when his hand found her butt and squeezed. The tiny noises she made when he started sucking on her neck made his hips jerk. Then her hand cupped his rock hard erection through his slacks. He bit down gently on her skin when she squeezed him. When he heard his zipper being pulled, his head came up.

"Ah, Brynn, you don't have to." It had been so long. He didn't know if he could control himself.

"Want to." She pulled his face to hers and resumed kissing him, greedily. Her hand trailed back down his body. Her hand was so warm as she wrapped it around him. His pants restricted her movements but just her touching him was driving him over the edge. She squeezed as she moved her hand up and down. It took mere minutes and Gibbs was groaning her name as he shot into her hand.

"Don't move." He said and zipped himself up. He went into the kitchen and came back out with a wet dish towel. He took the hand that had just pleased him and wiped it clean. He tossed the towel down and pulled Brynn off the couch. "Now up to bed." His grin said what he didn't.

Undressed and in bed, Gibbs stretched out above her. He leaned down and crushed her mouth to his. One hand kept him propped up. His other hand caressed her face. His fingertips burned hot paths up and down her body. His mouth moved to her neck the same time his hand squeezed and worked her left breast. She squirmed and moaned as the sensations sent her mind spinning.

"Gibbs!" His hand had slowly worked its way further down. She opened her legs without even realizing what she was doing. He slid his fingers between the folds of hot, wet flesh. "Gibbs!" Her hand gripped his hard on again. She pumped him slowly while he worked his fingers over her sweet spot. His grunts and her moans became a chorus. The slow torture he endured under her hand was making him quicken his pace with her.

"Oh, Brynn, faster." He whispered into her ear. She immediately obeyed. "Ah, yes." When they finally came together, Gibbs had sucked bruises all around Brynn's neck and chest. Catching his breath, he looked at each bruise and smirked.

"Should…" Brynn was just as breathless. "Kept towel." Gibbs chuckled.

"I'll get another one." He kissed her lips before he got up.

The next morning… A very distinct smell singed the inside of Gibbs' nose. He jumped out of bed and ran downstairs. The offending smell grew stronger as he got closer to the kitchen. He could hear sobbing. He made the final turn into the small kitchen and saw Brynn standing in front of the stove. She looked up at him with a tear-streaked face.

"I try… I try… So sorry." She backed away from the stove. Gibbs took one look at the cremated bacon and scorched eggs and fought not to laugh. "So stupid." Brynn muttered. She threw the spatula she had been holding into the sink. "Only thing right… Coffee! Stupid!" Gibbs wrapped her arms around her and pulled her back against his chest.

"It's a good thing I like coffee then." He said lightly. She turned in his arms.

"I try…"

"I know, baby." He kissed her nose.

"I not burn toast…" She managed a half-smile. Gibbs finally let the chuckle out.

"You go sit down. I'll clean this up." He kissed her lips. She frowned and her eyes looked down. "Hey." Her eyes came up. "How bout I make us some pancakes to go with your toast and coffee?"

"Kay." She sighed and slid out of his arms.

NCIS

It wasn't until later that day that Brynn realized Gibbs had completely wormed his way out of telling her about her attack. Gibbs and Tony were off chasing a lead. Tim was down in Abby's lab. Ziva was at her desk updating something. Brynn was sitting at Gibbs' desk playing solitaire on his computer.

"Agent Sutter." Brynn looked up to see Vance grinning at her. "I heard Gibbs finally loosened up and let you go out in public."

"You tink I give him shoice in matter?" Brynn smirked. In the back of her mind she hated not being able to speak normally in front of the director.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from you." He looked around. "I heard he had Dorneget watching you."

"As long as I shtay witfh someone I okay." She pointed at Ziva. "I either up here or wifth Abby. And he calls erry hour." He didn't even blink at her slurry mess-ups. That made her feel less like an idiot.

"Well, you just make sure you let yourself heal. I don't want to lose anymore good people. And when you get a doctors release to come back to work, you still take it easy."

"Should be okay by nesh week." She paused. "Dishyness going away. Only problems are wifth talking."

"Well, that'll get better with time." She grinned and nodded. "You just be sure and _take_ the time." He nodded at Ziva before heading upstairs.

"What is it?" Ziva asked when she saw Brynn rolling her eyes.

"Everyone keeps saying 'time.' In time, take time, give it time. I starting hate dat word."

"You are just as impatient as Gibbs."

"You are prolly wight." Brynn shook her head. "Just wish time hurry up!" Ziva laughed. Brynn's phone rang.

"At least now you know an hour has passed." Ziva said as Brynn put the phone to her ear.

"Shudder." Brynn said into the phone. She still slipped when she tried to say her last name.

"Hey, how you doin?" She could tell he was driving.

"Playin sol-tare."

"Still?"

"Not mush else to do. Vance came to see me."

"How'd _that_ go?"

"Not bad. He say when I come back to work, I sposed take it easy."

"Well, good. Listen, I'm bringing lunch for everyone. We'll be there soon."

"Yeah, cause you driving." She laughed.

"Yeah." He chuckled. "I'll see you soon." CLICK

"He suck at saying bye." Brynn looked up at Ziva. Ziva just nodded and laughed. "He bring lunch though." Brynn went back to her game. It took her all of ten seconds to get bored. "You with Gibbs at hospital?"

"What?" Ziva looked up from her computer.

"When I was there firsht night. You with Gibbs?"

"Yes, we all were." Ziva's eyes scanned the squad room. Talking about Gibbs usually made him appear.

"What he like? When you find me?"

"I have never seen Gibbs that heartbroken and angry at the same time."

Brynn let the subject drop. She started absentmindedly spinning her phone on the desk. She didn't stop when she heard the elevator ding. It was only when she heard Tony's voice that she finally looked up.

"You _are_ bored." The distraction made her lose control of the spinning phone. It flew off the desk and thumped against the carpeted floor. Tony laughed before handing the phone back to her. "We got you Lo Mein and that orange chicken you like." He set a bag in front of her. "And your sweet tea." The cup was the size of Abby's usual Caf-Pow. Tony went to his own desk. Gibbs pulled up a chair and sat across from Brynn.

"You and I still need to talk." She said quietly after he sat down. He just nodded and opened his lunch. McGee came up and stopped at Tony's desk to whisper something before going to his own desk. Gibbs stayed quiet while he ate. Tony and Tim chatted back and forth about the case. Brynn paid just enough attention to know that somebody had smuggled something. Her mind kept circling around what Ziva had just told her. She had wanted to know more, but knew Ziva would wait for Gibbs to tell her.

"You look worried about something." Gibbs' remark brought her eyes up.

"Just kinda im-pay-tent."

"Impatient?" She nodded. "Oh, something so new for you." His sarcasm made her smile.

"Can I cook for us dinner?" He raised his brow.

"Would you be offended if I supervised?" He asked, remembering the breakfast fiasco. She shook her head and grinned.

"I can bake chicken. Use a timer."

"Good idea." He thought for a second. "We may need to do some shopping though."

"Need to anyway." She paused when he looked at her. "What?"

"It's just been a while since we had a conversation so…"

"Trivial?"

"I was gonna say civil, but yeah, that too."

"We should do more often."

"Boss!" McGee called out. Gibbs turned around in his chair and yelled.

"What!" McGee froze at the glare Gibbs was throwing at him. Brynn reached out and slapped Gibbs' arm. "What, McGee?" His voice softened.

"Um, I got a hit on the BOLO." McGee stuttered. Gibbs grumbled and got up. Finally, a nice conversation with Brynn and McGee had to go and ruin it.

NCIS

Brynn had managed to not burn anything. Gibbs wasn't really a chicken guy, he preferred steak. But he had to admit, his woman could make anything taste good. The night had gone smoothly until they retreated to the couch. Gibbs got a fire going and they stretched out.

"Tell me what you remember. I'll fill in the blanks." Was all he said when he pulled her close. She had her back to him. Somehow she knew this would be easier if they weren't facing each other.

"I remember lunch. All foggy after that."

"Okay… "

FLASHBACK

Gibbs smiled when Brynn came up to the bullpen. It was nearly 2200 and everyone was still busy. She circled around his desk and stood next to him. Her swollen belly made her heavy coat stick out.

"I'm headed home." She said quietly. "Should I wait up?"

"No. You go get some sleep. One of us should."

"Kay." She leaned down and kissed the top of his head. "Call me when you're on your way. I like to know when you're coming home. Love you."

"Love you too." On her way out she stopped and said goodnight to the rest of the team.

It was another hour before Gibbs was able to call Brynn. She didn't answer. As weird as that was, Gibbs just chalked it up to her dead to the word pregnancy sleep. When he got home… Brynn's car wasn't in the driveway.

"Brynn!" He called out once he got in the door. "Baby, you home?" He went up to their room. "Brynn?" Nothing. He went into the nursery. Empty. Back downstairs… Nothing. "Brynn!" He opened the basement door. She never went down there but it was the only place he hadn't checked. "You there?" Silence. This was wrong. Gibbs pulled out his cell. Just like before, the phone rang until he heard Brynn's voicemail. Okay, now he was worried. He dialed McGee's number.

"McGee." The sleepy voice said.

"Have you seen Brynn?"

"Not since she went home." He suddenly became alert. "Is something wrong?"

"Yeah! I'm at home and she's not here! She's not answering her phone either."

"Is it on?"

"Yes, it rings until it goes to voicemail."

"Okay, I'm on my way back to the office. I can trace her phone from there. We should also check the parking security cameras. Does she usually park in our lot?"

"Yeah." Gibbs was already in his car, speeding back towards the Navy yard.

"Okay. You want me to call Tony?"

"Yeah, I'll call Ziva."

"Got it."

"Tim…"

"Yeah, boss?"

"Thanks."

"No problem."

After finding Brynn's phone tossed in some bushes in the parking lot, Gibbs called Abby in to run prints. They had cycled through the security footage and finally found the moment when Brynn came into view. Gibbs recognized her pregnant waddle-walk. They slowed the camera and McGee did his best to clean the picture.

She made it to her car with no problems. He could see her open the passenger door and set her bag down. She circled around to the driver's side and almost had the door opened when something distracted her. She jumped in surprise and whirled around. Then she took a step forward and it looked like she was yelling at someone. A man in a hoodie cam into view. Something silver glinted in his hand. Gibbs could only guess it was a gun. The next second, Brynn wrapped her arms protectively over her stomach and stepped back to the car. She turned to open the door and the man suddenly jumped at her. Gibbs cringed when he saw the silver object connect with Brynn's head… One, two, three, four times.

The man quickly drug her unconscious body to the back of the car. He popped open the trunk and set her in. Gibbs could see that she wasn't moving at all. The man then tore through Brynn's bag and tossed her phone out. Then he got in her car and sped away.

NCIS

Brynn had listened quietly to the whole story. Her first instinct had been to grab her belly. Yeah, that sounded right. But it also sounded like she knew her attacker.

"How did you find me?" She asked when Gibbs finally paused.

"We put a BOLO out on you and your car. We couldn't do much because we had nothing to really go on."

"Musht have been hard."

"You have no idea…"

FLASHBACK

"How can you not have anything?" Gibbs yelled at his team. They were all gathered in Abby's lab.

"Gibbs, he had to have been wearing gloves. All the prints on her phone are hers." Abby half his behind Ziva while she spoke. "There's nothing else there. I ran every test I know!" Gibbs was literally pulling at his hair. It had been hours… _Hours! _Who knows what could have happened to her by now. She could be… No.

"Anything on the BOLO yet?" He turned desperately to McGee.

"I just updated it, no." Gibbs' eyes went wild. "I'll update it again." He was typing before he got the whole sentence out.

When they finally got a hit on the BOLO Gibbs didn't bother yelling, 'gear up.' He ran for the parking lot and jumped in his car. The headlights following him closely was Ziva trying desperately to keep up with him. Knowing she drove just as crazily as Gibbs, Tony and Tim had let her drive. They pulled into the abandoned gas station where the BOLO had been called in. A single Metro car sat beside Brynn's Grand Am. The police officer was circling the car with a flashlight.

"Pop the trunk!" Gibbs yelled while running over to him.

"Do you have a warrant?" The cop shone the light in Gibbs' face. Gibbs replied by shoving the cop out of the way and pulling out his knife. He wrenched the trunk open and stopped dead.

She was facing up. Her arms were sprawled out and her eyes were closed. Her skin was even paler than usual. The thing that scared Gibbs the most was the dangerous shade of blue covering her lips and cheeks. He carefully checked her pulse on her neck. She was ice cold. But he could feel the faintest little thump against his fingers. His team was behind him now. Gibbs reached in and grabbed her by the shoulders. Tony hoisted her legs and the two of them got her into the backseat of Gibbs' car. Tony silently nodded at Tim before backing away from the car. Tim got in the passenger seat. He knew Tim would want to be with his friend.

"Get her car back to the Navy yard." Gibbs shouted out the window before peeling out.

It was another half hour before Tony and Ziva chanced a trip to the hospital. Abby had lifted a hair from the driver's seat and was running DNA on it. When Ziva and Tony spotted Tim in the waiting area they pressed for answers. Gibbs was sitting off to the side. His face was completely blank.

"We don't know anything yet." Tim said quietly. He didn't know Gibbs could hear him. "They're doing X-Rays right now. She's lost a lot of blood though. They did a transfusion."

"Well, when will we know something?" Tony demanded. Gibbs suddenly stood up. The doctor he had spoken to earlier came out into the hall.

"Doc, is she…" The doctor held up his hand at Gibbs.

"Right now, it doesn't look good." Gibbs crumbled back into the chair. "We've done everything we can. It's up to her now. The baby is still healthy but… The blows to her head caused massive swelling. Right now she's in a coma. She'll be lucky if she comes out of this without severe brain damage. Or if she comes out of it at all." By now there were actual tears running down Gibbs' face. Seeing their boss cry, shocked everyone into silence. "She could go tonight…"

"Can I see her?" Gibbs choked out.

"Only for a minute." Gibbs jumped up and followed the doctor. Just as he left the hall, he heard a cell phone ring.

When Gibbs got back to his team, his face had gone blank again. Tony had just snapped his phone shut.

"Boss, we found him." Gibbs led the way out of the hospital.

NCIS

"I guess you know the rest." Gibbs said after a few minutes of silence. "We found him… And then I went straight to the hospital and never left your side."

"There still more." She called him out. "You won't tell me rest will you?"

"Please not tonight. I'm too beat." Another lame excuse. But she took pity and let it drop. "I love you, Brynn." His tone suddenly scared her. She turned until she could see his eyes. He was dangerously close to tears.

"Love you, Gibbs." She didn't have the heart to press him for more. She just settled back against him and closed her eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

Brynn would have skipped in to work if her stomach wasn't bigger than a basketball. She had been cleared for work by no less than four doctors. Only because it had taken four doctors just to convince Gibbs that she was ready for work. Vance had allowed her to work from home and do light work in the office for a few hours a day but she was now back on full duty. Her speech was nearly perfect. The only time she slipped up was when she got really frustrated. Her memory was back, save for the night of her attack. And things between her and Gibbs were getting better every day.

It had been two weeks since Gibbs had finally told her what happened the night of her attack. When she pressed him to tell her what happened to the man who hit her on the head four times and left her for dead… All he would say was that he had shot and killed the man when he resisted arrest. Something itched at the back of Brynn's mind when he had said this. She couldn't help but wonder if she really had known her attacker, or if she had just reacted to a noise when the camera saw her turn and yell at someone.

The elevator doors opened and Brynn stepped into the sub-basement smiling. When her coworkers all jumped up and welcomed her back, she quickly pushed her musings aside.

Gibbs looked towards the elevator that went to the sub-basement for the fifth time that morning. He hated that Brynn was back at work. If he had it his way, she'd be at home until after the baby was born… Or possibly even longer than that. But after she had yelled at him for being 'an over-protective, overbearing, over-everything jackass,' he had given in. The protective side of him wanted to just wrap itself around Brynn and not let anything near her. The logical side (which was known to argue vehemently with the protective side) knew that this just wasn't possible. Vance had personally assured Gibbs that Brynn would only be assigned cases that he approved for her. Vance was going out of his way to make sure Brynn took it easy.

It took three rings before Gibbs realized that it was his cell.

"Yeah, Gibbs."

"You're staring at the elevator again, aren't you." Gibbs shook his head. She knew him better than anyone.

"Maybe I'm hoping you'll come out of it with a fresh coffee." He said quietly.

"Maybe you should look behind you." Gibbs snapped his phone shut. Brynn was smirking when he turned in his chair. She reached over the divider and held out a large coffee. "I could feel you staring all the way downstairs."

"I have a very long reaching stare." He took the coffee and smiled. "It worked though, didn't it."

"Slow day?" Brynn's eyes swept over the bullpen. It looked like everyone was doing paperwork.

"Mostly catching up."

"So, free for lunch?"

"I'll let you know." She winked at him and left. When he turned back to his team, they were all staring at him. "What?" He demanded. Everyone quickly looked away.

NCIS

It didn't take long for Gibbs' quiet day to get much more interesting. Brynn was headed for his desk with a bag of Chinese takeout when the team got a call out. She frowned when he shrugged at her. She quickly changed direction and headed downstairs. Maybe Abby was hungry.

"Hey Brynnie!" Abby shouted and attack-hugged her. Brynn had been down to see Abby already that morning. But Abby acted like she hadn't seen her in months.

"Hey Abbs. Hungry?"

"Oooh! Whadda you got?"

"I was gonna have lunch with Gibbs, but they got called out." Brynn set up their lunch back in Abby's office.

"Guess that means my day is about to get busy." Abby rubbed her hands together before picking up one of the little boxes. The two of them chatted through their lunch about this and that. Thirty minutes passed, and Brynn let out a sigh.

"I have a feeling Vance and Gibbs are plotting against me."

"Huh, why?"

"Vance gave me what I can only call a 'peanut' case."

"What's a peanut case?"

"A case that even a person with a brain the size of a peanut can handle. I finished it in an hour ago. I sent him the report… And he told me to take it easy until he finds me another case. I feel like I may as well have stayed home. This is all Gibbs' doing."

"No… I don't think it is. Brynnie, everyone here really freaked when you got hurt. Vance was one of the first ones to go see you in the hospital. You were in and out of it _bad_ for the first week. The doctors said you would be lucky if you didn't turn into a vegetable. Believe it or not, Vance took it just as hard as the rest of us. When you actually started speaking, it was like everyone could finally breath in Vance's presence without getting yelled at. Oh, and Gibbs… I don't think I ever wanna see him like that again. Especially considering-" Abby slapped her mouth shut.

"Considering what?"

"Well," Abby's eyes swiveled around the room. "Everyone thought you were gonna die that first night… The doctors said there was nothing else they could do. Gibbs broke down and cried, actually cried. And not in a sweet quiet way, like you see in movies. This was just painful and gut-wrenching."

"I wish I could remember that night."

"It's probably better that you don't."

"Everybody keeps telling me that. It's like there's a bush that everyone keeps circling, but no one wants to touch." She eyed Abby suspiciously. "You know don't you."

"Look, Gibbs is like my father, which basically makes you, like my mother. And the kids don't like it when mom and dad fight. And I just think that Gibbs was totally justified in what he did. Just like he was totally justified the last time."

"Justified in killing the man who hurt his family?"

"Yeah, no matter _who_ it was."

"Who the hell was it?" Brynn felt her patience wearing thin.

"Who the hell was what?" Both women jumped at the sound of Tony's voice.

"Who the hell attacked me." Tony froze and his eyes widened.

"Oh, that guy…" Brynn narrowed her eyes at Tony. "Uh, I have… Stuff." He set down an evidence box.

"You guys both have sucky poker faces." Brynn stood up and quickly cleared away the leftovers.

NCIS

That night Brynn left the building escorted by McGee. Gibbs had ordered him to take Brynn home and come back. The team would be stuck at the office for at least another few hours. Brynn had decided not to try to get her car back. The thought of driving the same car she almost bled to death in, just didn't sit right with her. Gibbs was just fine with the idea of Brynn not driving herself at all. It was dark outside when they exited the building. The clouds had come out and covered the sky. Brynn always carried a small flashlight in her bag. She pulled it out and clicked the button. Nothing happened.

"Damn, my batteries must be dead." She muttered to herself.

*FLASH*

Brynn was walking by herself to her car. She knew Jethro would be home late. Maybe she'd just have a sandwich and go to bed. It was so dark, she could barely see. She pulled her flashlight out and pushed the button. "Damn, my batteries must be dead." She muttered to herself.

*FLASH*

"Brynn?" McGee's concerned voice brought Brynn spinning back to the present. He had moved in front of her. "Are you okay?" He put his hands on her shoulders.

"Yeah… Why?" She sounded dazed.

"You stopped walking all the sudden and spaced out."

"My batteries are dead." Her eyes were still unfocused.

"Yeah, you said that."

"No, they were already dead." She blinked and focused on his face. "They've been dead since that night. I couldn't see. I tried to use it, but the batteries were dead."

"Do you remember what happened next?" He sounded curious and slightly afraid. She just shook her head. "Are you okay to walk?"

"I think so." He put his arm around her shoulder and led her through the parking lot. They were almost to the car when…

"I was parked right there." She stopped and pointed.

"But I'm parked over here." He tried to steer her away but she pushed past him. She took a few more steps. "Brynnie we should go. You need to get home and rest." He pleaded. "If Gibbs finds out I…" By now she was so far away from him, he could barely see her outline. He rushed forward and tried to grab her arm.

"He yelled my name." Her voice was close but soft. "He yelled my name and I turned around." McGee finally got hold of her arm but she jerked away again. "How could he be here?" Her voice grew desperate. "He couldn't be here! It couldn't be him!"

"Brynnie, let me take you back inside."

"No!" She cried out. "It couldn't have been him! He was supposed to be in prison!"

"Brynnie, please!" He grabbed both her arms and held her tightly.

"You knew!" She screamed in his face. "You knew all along! You knew my brother tried to kill me!" Her body shuddered with angry sobs. "You knew…" Her voice was getting lower. "And Gibbs killed him. He killed my brother… Oh, God, no…"

NCIS

"Yeah, Gibbs." Gibbs knew that there was no way McGee could have gotten to his house yet. When he saw the name on the caller I.D. he felt confused.

"Boss, we got a big problem." McGee's voice sounded scared. Gibbs shot out of his chair and headed for the elevator.

"What the hell happened?"

"Brynn started remembering the night of her attack. She completely lost it. I'm taking her to the hospital."

"Is she okay?" He punched the down button.

"She's conscious but nearly catatonic. She knows, boss. She knows about her brother." The elevator doors opened and Gibbs jumped in. It was only when he turned to push the button for the lobby, that he realized Ziva and Tony had both followed him.

"We'll meet you at the hospital, McGee." Gibbs snapped his phone shut. The doors opened and Ziva and Tony had to run to keep up.

NCIS

"McGee!" Tim jumped at the sound of his named being yelled. He turned to see his team rushing towards him. Gibbs was in front. "Is she okay?" Gibbs skidded to a halt, almost running in to McGee.

"They couldn't find anything physically wrong with her… They're talking about keeping her overnight though."

"Why?" Gibbs demanded. He felt a hand on his shoulder but shrugged it off.

"I guess they want to make sure she's in her right mind." McGee wasn't sure if that was altogether the best way to put that. Gibbs' face went pale and his eyes bulged for a second. At that moment, McGee was saved from Gibbs' dead stare. The doctor that he had spoken to earlier came out. "This is her doctor!" McGee directed Gibbs' attention to the older man in blue scrubs.

"Doc, can I see her?" Gibbs pleaded. The doctor sighed and shook his head.

"She's denying visitors."

"What?" Everyone chorused.

"She doesn't want any visitors." The man shrugged.

"Look, I'm the father of her baby. Please, just let me see her."

"You're Gibbs?"

"Yes!"

"She said she definitely doesn't want to see you."

"I'm a Federal agent!" Gibbs got in the man's face.

"She said you'd use that." The doctor was keeping his cool. Gibbs was quickly losing his. "Listen, I have to adhere to my patient's requests. If she says she doesn't want visitors, I have to assume that it's for the best that she doesn't have any. Now, I'm sorry, but you all have to leave now." He walked away, leaving the stunned group in the waiting room.

"Get back to the Navy yard." Gibbs' voice came out monotone. They all looked at him.

"Boss?" Tony was the only one brave enough to question him.

"I'm not leaving this hospital until I see her." He sat down in the nearest chair. The other three looked at each other. Then each of them sat down around Gibbs. He looked at them as if to ask what they were doing.

"You didn't make this mess alone." Tony said. "You shouldn't have to clean it up alone."

Two hours later Gibbs looked around him. Tony was slumped over in his chair with his head on McGee's shoulder. McGee had an arm around Tony. Both were fast asleep. Ziva's head was bobbing up and down slowly. She too was close to passing out. His mind had been racing ever since he got that call from McGee. Now that exhaustion was taking over, his mind was able to slow down and really focus. It didn't take long after that for him to make a decision.

"Guys." He spoke loud enough to wake everyone. "Go home."

"Not without…" McGee started to speak.

"I'm leaving too." Gibbs explained.

"What about Brynn?" Ziva asked.

"She wants her space. I need to give it to her. Besides, do you really think I can out-stubborn her." No one argued that point. "Let's go. When she's ready, she'll let us know."

NCIS

The next morning Brynn woke up at 0600 on the dot. She was alone in her hospital room. She was surprised that Gibbs hadn't snuck or muscled his way in during the night. She sat up and sighed. Every part of her told her she should be furious. But she just couldn't make herself hate any of them. As pissed as she was… And she really, really was… She had to admit that what really pissed her off was not the fact that Gibbs had killed her brother. She hated herself for that. It made her feel like a cold-hearted bitch.

No. The thing that had her refusing to see any of them, was the fact that they had all lied to her. This could have all been avoided if at least one of them had told her outright, what had happened that night. But in the back of her mind, it was herself she blamed for all of this. She knew this was wrong. But if she hadn't sent Bryan to prison, would this have happened at all? She shook her head and picked up her cell phone off the table beside her. She needed to confide in someone. She needed advice. But everyone she would normally go to, was on her shit list. What time was it in Denver? She found the most unused number on her contact list and hit SEND. The phone rang three times before…

"Hello?"

"Uncle Ian, it's Brynn."

"Hey, sweetie! How have you been?"

"Do you have a while? I really… I really need someone."

NCIS

It was 0900 and by now, Vance, Abby, Jimmy, and Ducky all knew what had happened the previous night. Team Gibbs all sat at their desks not even bothering to look busy. Gibbs's cell was lying on his desk being glared at. The phone hadn't done anything all day. This was why it was being glared at. The damn thing was supposed to ring! Gibbs let out a loud sigh and scooped up the phone. He flipped it open. Just as he did this, it rang. Caught off guard, he nearly dropped it. He didn't recognize the number. It could be the hospital. He hit a button and put the phone to his ear.

"Gibbs." His voice was hopeful. He looked up to see his team all staring at him.

"Uh, yes, hello." Gibbs didn't recognize the male voice. "My name is Ian Coleson. I'm Brynn Sutter's uncle." Gibbs' mouth fell open. Brynn hardly spoke of her uncle. They weren't close. When Brynn's father ordered his wife to shut out her family, she had. This was after Brynn's grandfather had died. The abuse had only gotten worse from there. So Brynn had very little contact with her uncle after she was twelve. Even after her parents had died, Brynn still hadn't really connected with her uncle.

"Hello?" Ian's voice shook Gibbs out of the clouds.

"Yes, I'm here. Uh…" What should he say?

"I just got a call from my niece." _Uh oh._ "First call in a few years actually…" The man didn't seem angry. What had she told him? "She told me a very long story, featuring you." _Damn_ "She started with you and her getting together. Bryan going to prison. Her pregnancy… Bryan attacking her… The time she spent in the hospital… And her memory coming back last night."

"So you know her brother is…" Gibbs couldn't even say it.

"Dead. Yes. And I know how it happened." Gibbs squeezed his eyes shut. "Listen, Gibbs, or do you prefer Jethro?"

"Gibbs is fine, thanks."

"Okay, I knew long ago that Bryan was headed down a path that would end tragically. That doesn't excuse anything but… I have to be honest when I say, I'd rather Brynn be alive and okay, than have to live with her being dead and Bryan in prison on death row. That said… I have a feeling that Brynn called me as a very last resort. She's not the type to ask for help. I think you know that." Yes, Gibbs knew that. "But she's asked if I will come down to D.C. and stay with her for a while. I think she just wants some backup."

"Are you coming?"

"Yes, I just booked a flight and I'm leaving in the morning. Brynn doesn't know I'm calling you. I booked a hotel for me and her. She should be on her way there now." Damn it! Gibbs had missed her leaving the hospital. "She said she didn't feel up to seeing you just yet. I'm supposed to call her boss, Vance, and tell him she won't be in for a few days."

"I can take care of that for you." Gibbs paused. "You seem extremely calm about all of this."

"I work in the Special Victims Unit of my precinct. I see pretty screwed up shit every day. I learned to keep my wits about me a long time ago." Gibbs suddenly remembered Brynn comparing her uncle to himself. Ian had been divorced twice and was more married to his job than anything. Gibbs shook his head and focused on Brynn.

"Does she need anything? Clothes, or anything?"

"I hadn't even thought of that. I bet she hasn't either. When we got done talking, she said she was headed straight for the hotel. I think she had sleep on her mind. She sounded exhausted."

"I could go… Or send someone with some things for her."

"Hmm. Might be a better idea to send someone. Probably not anyone she's pissed at."

Gibbs had no idea who that could possibly be.

NCIS

At 10:30, a very soft knock brought Brynn to her feet. She was sitting on the queen sized bed, flipping channels on the T.V. When she had first arrived at the hotel, she was surprised Ian had rented two rooms. She figured he'd just rent one double room. But his room was next door. She was glad for the privacy. She opened the door to her room hoping it wasn't anyone she'd want to kill. The chain on the door stopped it from opening all the way.

"Jimmy?" She was genuinely surprised.

"Hey Brynn." He said cautiously. She shut the door long enough to unchain it and opened it all the way. She saw Jimmy holding a Chinese takeout bag and a large soda. There was a familiar looking suitcase beside him.

"I guess you drew the short straw. I figured Gibbs would send someone eventually." She relieved his hands of the food and drink. Jimmy pulled the suitcase in and set it in a corner.

"Actually they just figured I'd be the one you would be less likely to kill." He smiled nervously.

"How'd he find me?"

"Your uncle called." Brynn rolled her eyes. "I'm supposed to stay and make sure Gibbs didn't forget anything." He pointed at the suitcase. Brynn sat the food down on a table and zipped open the suitcase. Gibbs had loaded the suitcase, not just with clothes and bathroom necessities, but also her laptop and a few books. Digging further into the bag, she also found a box of toffee chocolates. She was grateful he had been so thoughtful. But at the same time, hated the fact that she needed him to think of it at all. She should have been smart enough to stop and get her own things before hiding away at the hotel. Finally, she turned back to Jimmy.

"I guess he thought of everything."

"He's really worried about you. Everyone is." Jimmy took a chance. "Do you think you might call him? Or you could text him, or something." He rattled on. "McGee said Gibbs even checked his email today to see if you sent him a message."

"Why don't you give him a message for me." Jimmy's eyes widened.

"Will this message get me killed?"

"I doubt it. Just tell him thanks for the suitcase… And lunch."

"Oh, okay." Jimmy turned to leave.

"Jimmy…" He turned back around. "Tell him thanks for the space too. And thank you for braving the trip here." He nodded and quickly left. "Damn you, Gibbs." She said to herself once she was alone.

NCIS

Ian Coleson walked into the squad room of NCIS and found himself impressed with their setup. The skylight was a bit much, the orange walls were atrocious, and the open area left some privacy to be desired. Yet, the atmosphere was somehow comfortable.

He had gone straight to the hotel from the airport that morning. Brynn had been in her room, ready to cry all over him as soon as he walked in. It reminded him so much of holding his older sister when she would cry in that same angry way. At first, Ian had been pissed that all of Brynn's friends had lied to her. But after watching her cry, then pace and cry, then throw things and pace and cry… He understood why they tried to protect her. She really was as vulnerable as they all thought. The whole cry-fest had lasted for two hours. After she had calmed down, he took them both out for a late breakfast.

They had spent the rest of the afternoon in Brynn's hotel room just talking. In spite of everything it was nice to finally reconnect. Ian found that, as scared as she was, Brynn was also pretty strong-willed. She was just as stubborn as her mother, but had that same vulnerable streak. It was near sunset when Ian suggested they get some dinner. When he dropped her off back at the hotel, she didn't ask where he was going.

Now he found himself standing in front of a desk with a beautiful Israeli woman sitting behind it.

"Excuse me miss?" The woman looked up at him with tired eyes. "Would you happen to be Ziva David?" The woman's eyes sharpened and she tilted her head.

"Yes. May I ask who you are?"

"My name is Ian Coleson, miss." Ian offered his hand. "I'm Brynn Sutter's uncle." Ziva quickly stood and shook his hand.

"It is very good to meet you Mr. Coleson." A smile stretched across her face.

"Ah, please, Ian."

"You may call me Ziva. Is Brynn alright?"

"Did somebody say Brynn? Is she here?" They both turned at the excited voice behind Ian. Ziva walked around to the front of her desk.

"Ian, this is Tony DiNozzo." Ian shook Tony's hand. "This is Brynn's uncle, Ian."

"Good to meet you, Tony. Brynn has told me all about you guys."

"Is she okay?" Tony repeated Ziva's earlier question.

"Well," Ian started to answer but was interrupted.

"Ziva did you get the results on…" McGee looked from Ziva, to Tony, to the stranger between them. "Hello."

"Tim McGee, meet Ian Coleson, Brynn's uncle from Denver." Ziva introduced them. McGee shook his hand.

"Do you want to find Gibbs before I say anything? I'm really not one for repeating myself." Ian grinned as he spoke.

"Brynn is the same way." McGee chuckled.

"Why don't we go into the conference room." Tony offered. "You can go get Gibbs." He turned and smiled at McGee. "I think he's down with Ducky." McGee was about to protest but just shook his head and headed for the elevator. Why did _he_ get all the dangerous tasks?

Once Gibbs and McGee rushed into the conference room, Ian got right to business.

"Brynn is fine physically. She's just royally pissed."

"That's understandable." Tony muttered. Gibbs glared at him for interrupting.

"But I think the thing that's bugging her the most is her own guilt." Ian went on.

"_Her_ guilt? What did she do?" McGee asked from his slumped over position in a chair.

"She has somehow managed to blame most of this on herself."

"What?" Gibbs blurted out.

"She feels like if she hadn't put Bryan away, none of this would have happened. Or maybe if she had gone to visit him at least once, to forgive him… And she's not mad at you for his death." He looked right at Gibbs. "She knew you wouldn't shoot him unless he forced you. And as a cop, I know how rough that can be, especially when you know the person. But she feels like _she_ made you pull that trigger." Gibbs opened his mouth but Ian held up a hand. "You need to remember that she had been through hell and may not be thinking clearly." Gibbs closed his mouth and leaned back against the wall. "She's more angry that you all lied to her. How long were you gonna keep her in the dark?" Ian shook his head. "I had a good talk with her though. So, she's been able to process things. Being left alone actually gave her time to deal with her emotions. Now, I think she's mostly just scared."

"Of what?" Gibbs asked.

"Of all of you. She's embarrassed that she ran off. It's her fear of confrontation. Her mother used to do this. Something bad would happen and suddenly it'd be all her fault. She'd get hurt and then mad. Then she'd run off. Brynn is so like her… She doesn't know how to come back. She's been expecting one or all of you to go busting down her hotel door. The fact that none of you have… She's not sure what to make of it."

"Well, if that's what she needs, I'll go do it." Gibbs stepped forward.

"I don't think that's what's best here."

"Then what do you suggest?"

"You all know her a lot better than I do. I'm really only here for emotional backup." Ian sighed. "Look, I think the best way to go about this is confront her head on. But… Do it gently. And probably not everyone at once." He turned to Gibbs again. Gibbs nodded.

"Me first." Gibbs muttered as he left the room.

There was silence for all of five seconds before Tony couldn't take it anymore.

"So, Ian… Have you ever been to D.C.?"

"Actually, no."

"Well, I have a feeling it's going to be a while before Gibbs gets back in. Why don't we show you the city?"

"I see why she likes you all so much."

"She is family to us." Ziva said. Ian just smiled.

NCIS

Brynn knew who it was as soon as she heard the knock. She had been stretched across the bed with her laptop, playing a game. For about four seconds, she thought about just letting him stand out there. But then…

"Brynn, please." She barely heard him. "I just wanna talk." She sighed in defeat and stood up.

Opening the door, she met those blue eyes. She expected him to shove his way in, but he just stood there, looking at her. He looked nervous but determined. She opened the door all the way and went back to the bed. She heard the door shut as she sat down and moved her laptop to the small table beside her. In the corner of the room was a table with two chairs. She considered sitting in one of the chairs, but then she felt the bed dip and knew Gibbs was sitting behind her.

When she twisted her body around, she saw that he was on the very edge of the bed with one leg curled under him. She laid down on her left side, facing him. When he didn't move, she patted the bed, inviting him to lay beside her. She didn't want to make this harder than it already was. He had gone against every part of his character to give her space when she asked for it. With the tiniest hint of a grin, he laid down beside her. There was still a lot of room between them. He was waiting for her to come to him.

"I met your uncle." Gibbs finally broke the silence.

"I figured." She was having trouble maintaining eye contact.

"He's a nice guy. Very together."

"Yeah, unlike the rest of the family." Her sarcasm cut through the air.

"Don't do that." He scooted close enough to put his hand on the side of her neck. "Don't make this your fault. You have to know it's not."

"I know." She sighed. His thumb slowly started massaging her just below her ear. "It's just easier to blame myself than everyone I love." She had no idea where that came from. "Sorry, that made sense in my head."

"I think I know what you mean." He moved closer, his face was now only inches away from hers. "I made one hell of a mess this time."

"Yes, you did."

"I know it's gonna take a lot for you to forgive me."

"You assume I'll forgive you at all?" She could literally see the fear gripping him. "That was spiteful." She turned her eyes away. "I don't wanna be mad anymore. I just need to know why you wouldn't tell me? Were you ever going to tell me? Can I ever trust you again?"

"I wouldn't tell you because I couldn't. Every time I started to… You were just going through so much. I didn't want to add to it by breaking your heart. I was selfish. All I cared about was you getting better. When you finally did, I didn't wanna ruin it. Yes, I was gonna tell you eventually… It just probably wasn't going to be any time soon." He moved his hand from her neck to her cheek. "As for trusting me… If you give me the chance, I'll do everything I can to earn it back."

"You can't keep things from me to protect me. You can't. I shouldn't have let you get away with it the first time."

"I know." He moved again and his nose touched her cheek. "Do you forgive me?"

"Yes." He kissed her cheek. "I can't believe how easily I'm letting you get off." He pulled back and looked at her. "I shouldn't. But I can't stop loving you long enough to want to leave you." She paused. "Now, I just feel stupid."

"You're not stupid. Don't ever say that."

"I can't believe I called my uncle down here." She moved away from him and sat up. "What have I done? God, I'm being such a baby about this. I couldn't even talk to you." She stood up. "I had to call a messenger! I can't even make myself stay mad at you." By now, Gibbs had stood and circled the bed to stand in front of her. "Oh my god, maybe I do need a nanny!" Gibbs reached out and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Brynn… Don't you see what's happening to you?"

"What?"

"You're grieving. Everything you've bottled up finally caught up with you." She looked at him like she didn't understand. "When your parents died, did you take time to grieve?"

"No. I… We weren't close."

"And Bryan, when he hurt you and went to prison… Did you take time to process it, or did you just move forward?"

"I moved on. You were there, you know. I just wanted it behind me." Her voice was growing desperate.

"You're uncle told me that you called him in as emotional backup. That's when I knew… I knew you had never let yourself deal with the demons in your past. It's why I gave you your space. I wanted you to take the time to grieve. You needed to go through the stages for yourself. If I showed up, you'd just run into my arms and push everything else away. So you reached out to the one person who was there when things first got bad for you. You needed help to get through it, and he was the only one who knew your pain."

"How do you know all that?"

"Because it's exactly what I did after I lost Shannon and Kelly. I ran straight into the arms of the first person who reached out to me. And then the next person, and the next. I never stopped running, so I didn't have to deal with my grief. Next thing I knew, I had three ex-wives and a slew of ex-girlfriends. It wasn't until I lost my memories of all the years of running, that I finally processed the loss. I finally let myself grieve after fifteen years. And I went to Mike because he was there when I was at my lowest the first time. He was the only one who knew everything."

"That's why you were in Mexico for so long? You left to grieve?" He nodded. She sat down in the chair closest to her. He quickly took the seat across from her. "You thought I'd run if I knew about Bryan?"

"I was right…" She looked away. "But you needed it. I knew that. I just couldn't stand the thought of you leaving. Like I said, I was selfish. And I'm so sorry for that." He moved down to the floor. He laid his head in her lap and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Brynn, I will do whatever it takes to keep you with me. Just tell me what I need to do."

"You have to tell me what happened. I need to know. What happened when you caught up with my brother."

"Ah, Brynn." He stood up and groaned.

"Tell me." She raised her voice. He sighed and sat in the chair across from her again.

"Alright. We caught up with him at a bus station. He had used one of your credit cards to buy a ticket. I guess he thought he'd be gone before we realized you were missing. We cornered him. He had your gun. He wouldn't give up."

*FLASH*

"Put it down Bryan, you're not going anywhere!" Tony yelled. Gibbs came up beside Tony. Ziva and McGee were rounding the other side of the bus, behind Bryan.

"If you found me, then you found her." Bryan spun wildly with the gun raised. He saw Ziva and McGee closing in. He turned back to Gibbs. "I just wanted her money. I didn't mean to kill her. I went to her for help! She owed me!"

"She's alive." Gibbs sounded eerily calm. "She's gonna be fine. Her and the baby…" Bryan narrowed his eyes in disbelief.

"She's alive? That bitch survived? She doesn't deserve to live after what she did!" He raised the gun again. Gibbs didn't hesitate.

*FLASH*

"He would have come after you again. He acted all concerned until he found out you were alive." Gibbs didn't take his eyes off Brynn. "I did what I had to do… To protect everyone. And I'd do it again."

"I knew it had to be something like that."

"Do you feel any better now that you know?"

"No." Her hands went to her belly. "But now I can let it rest." She stood up after a minute. "Can we go?" He quickly stood.

"Yeah. Where to?"

"Home."

NCIS

Ian felt good as he boarded the plane that would take him back to Denver. He ended up staying a week in D.C. with his niece and her new family. He had been able to help Brynn when she really needed him, and that had set some of his own demons to rest. Gibbs seemed like a good, honest man. And that was what Brynn needed. He was someone who would protect her and her baby.

When Ian had first heard his niece's voice on the phone, he had never expected things to end like this. But it wasn't really an ending. They had been able to start something by the end of the week. And Ian was set on making many more fresh starts when he got home. Starting with spending more time with his own children. He had two boys from his first marriage that he hardly saw because of work. His oldest had a birthday coming up. Ian wasn't going to miss it.

Brynn was back at work again. How much had she missed out on? Her desk looked like someone had turned it into a file cabinet. The mountain of folders made her computer hardly visible. But she couldn't have been happier. At least she had something to do… Though they were probably just more peanut cases…

Unlike last time, Gibbs was also happy that Brynn was back at work. For one, he knew staying at home would drive her crazy, which would in turn be taken out on him. Secondly, he could watch her better since they were in the same building. And third, and this was his favorite, Brynn was finally happy. She wasn't trying to glare information out of Gibbs' team, which meant they could all relax and focus on work. And she wasn't holding grudges against Gibbs anymore.

With any luck, things were finally settling down. But Gibbs wasn't stupid enough to believe in luck.


End file.
